So far, we’ve taken a look at both Kelly Monaco & Emmitt Smith’s original seasons on DWTS. Today, we backtrack a bit to take a look at Drew’s original season 🙂

For Drew’s best dance, I waffled back & forth between he & Cheryl’s tango & paso doble…but I ultimately picked their famous “Thriller” paso doble, as I think it best shows off how Drew was the total package of skill & showmanship:

And while I noticed that Drew & Cheryl didn’t really have any truly terrible dances in their original season, per se, I ended up picking their week 1 cha-cha as their worst dance, because Drew looks a bit awkward and unsure of what to do with his hands:

Ohhh, how I DON’T miss the days before the show began broadcasting in HD 😛 Once again, I’m struck by the same thing I see when watching Emmitt & Kelly’s dances: the quality of dancing on the show has improved drastically since the first few seasons. Even though I think Drew was much better than Kelly & Emmitt from a technical perspective, I still think he’s going to be hard-pressed to match up with the skill of Joey or Gilles (two guys who didn’t even win their respective seasons), right out of the gate. I also think the choreography back then wasn’t as good as it is now – and that could prove problematic for all 3 of the early winners (Kelly, Drew, & Emmitt), as the pros have all stepped their game up quite a bit since those seasons. It could be a bit jarring for them to go from easily handling the choreography on their own seasons, to having to fight tooth and nail to just get a decent score each week of the all-star season, with the bar being raised so much. On the plus side, Drew seems to have a good deal of “attack” to his dancing – he isn’t hesitant or wishy-washy, and goes for everything 100%. Seems very confident out on the floor, and doesn’t seem to have any glaring timing issues. But man – I had forgotten how short Drew is. He moves “big” for his size, and does seem to extend his limbs impressively far, given his stature – but I’m picturing him next to the very willowy Gilles, who had quite possibly the most fantastic extension in his arms & legs of any guy I’ve ever seen on the show (except maybe Roshon, but I swear that boy was made of rubber!)…and I’m just imagining that poor Drew is just not going to measure up, no matter how far he stretches. Not his fault – but it’s unfortunately the hand he was dealt by nature. Part of me thinks he may have been physically better matched with Chelsie, since she would have given him an extra 2″ of leeway, but I do think he may actually have an advantage with Anna – these two seem to have really hit the ground running with “getting themselves out there” since the announcement of the cast. They are tweeting up a storm, have set up an official Facebook page which they are updating frequently with videos and pictures, and just seem to have forged a really great partnership – I seriously can’t stop smiling when I see these two!

So what, if anything, has Drew done since season 2 to keep his dance skills sharp? Well, he has been practicing for the 98 Degrees reunion tour, and they actually performed on the Today show yesterday:

Ok – admittedly, 98 Degrees was the boy band of the 1990’s that did the least amount of dancing…and the little they did do was pretty basic “work the mic, jazz square here, hand gesture there”-type stuff. But Drew actually seems to be taking this choreography, no matter how cheesy it looks, pretty seriously – he’s snapping his head nicely, making good eye contact, and staying on time. And as crazy as that sounds – I think that may actually be an unexpected advantage he has this season. I know everyone seems eager to point out that Joey being onstage in the Vegas show is huge advantage this season, and it is – but I would argue that really ANY contestant that has been onstage in some song & dance capactity within the last year or so has probably got an advantage. Gotta keep those performing skills sharp!

Court’s verdict: Drew is obviously going to have to step up his game quite a bit in order to compete with more recent contestants like Gilles – but he could be a bit of a dark horse this season, given his work ethic and the chemistry he has forged with Anna. He is probably the most skilled of the “early” champions, and if he’s willing to put in the effort (and Anna can give him some good choreography), he could give some of the favorites this season (Gilles, Joey, Shawn, etc.) a good run for their money. One to watch, for sure!

So what do you guys think of Drew? Possible dark horse…or a possible dud?

UPDATE: Thanks to @BeerBabeSuzi (an NKOTB friend of mine who also runs a fantastic 98 Degrees fan sitethat’s been around for 10 years!), here’s some video of 98 Degrees performing at the Mixtape Festival in Hershey, Pennsylvania over the weekend – and it looks like Drew has been practicing his Latin hips 😉 The song is “Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche)” and it starts at about the 2:50 mark. Check out Drew on the right, getting pretty into his dance moves 😉

I want Anna and Drew to do well because… well… Anna! 🙂 But I like that they’ve taken the bit between their teeth and run with it already. And like you, they make me smile. I think he could go deep if he and Anna come across as engaging on the TV screen as they do online. 🙂

I agree with you, I see him doing very well if he really works hard and steps it up. He is indeed the strongest dancer of the early champions and actually one of the stronger technical dancers out of the guys as well. I’d say he is above Helio and Apolo slightly and he outclasses Emmitt by a considerable amount in technique. I also see him perhaps holding a candle to Gilles and Joey skill-wise depending on how hard he and Anna go for it.

He also has the good advantage of being extremely likable. He and Anna are going to be such a fun couple IMO and I hope they really put up a good fight. While I am rooting for Shawn, Drew and Anna may just be my second favorite couple. Can’t wait to see more from these two 🙂 Do I think he’ll win?? I can’t see it yet, but we haven’t even seen them dance. They could end up being the dark horse couple just like Courtney mentioned. But I most certainly think he’ll do better than what many are guessing. I’m not sold on him being one of the early exits. I hope Courtney and I both are right.

I agree, Evaine – I like that they’ve really hit the ground running with reaching out to their fans and forging a really good bond. I think things like that will matter more this season than any other season – with so many popular & talented contestants returning, I think being likeable & memorable is going to be crucial. Wish some of the other couples who have remained relatively quiet thus far (Bristol & Mark, Pam & Tristan, Kelly & Val) would take a page out of Drew & Anna’s book….

He makes it look so effortless. Definately one to keep an eye on since he is the only winner from the first four seasons that really was the complete package in my opinion. He has the entertainment, the skills, and the personality.

I feel like they could have a real advantage with their personalities and partnership. I love Anna and always want her to do well. When she was with Carson her happy personality really came through and I think we will see that again with Drew. I hope that they will stay for a couple weeks to gain a stronger voting block.

I didn’t realize how charismatic Drew would be. I’m seeing good things coming from this couple and I can see why Anna is excited. From interviews and statements I’ve seen from Gilles so far, he seems very uptight about this season so it’s definitely going to be interesting to see how things play out. I would love to think this could be Anna’s year too.

I definitely loved watching Drew dance. He’s not awkward at all and just good. I really hope he’d be able to catch up with more recent harder choregraphy, and I don’t see why he can’t. He looked like he could learn stuff quickly on his season. 5 years since then though, so hopefully he hasn’t gone too stiff XD

The thing that I remember the most about him is that he’s funny. Loved the few episodes of him hosting with Tom so much, while Samantha was on maternity leave. What a fun fun fun person. I hope to see more of that in the upcoming season. And Anna could be very fun too, definitely gonna root for them!

Drew does dance “big” for his size and has good extension. I also like his carriage. I think because he’s short, he doesn’t slouch. His posture off the dance floor is good. So he doesn’t look stiff and unnatural maintaining his posture while dancing.

I adore Anna. Her choreography is solid, if a bit traditional. I hope that finally having another good dancer to work with gives her the latitude to include some interesting stuff.

I’m already in love with this couple and think it would be great if Drew and Anna turn out to be this season’s dark horse.

Oh, want to add, I agree with katarina #7 – Gilles does seem uptight about this season. While I’d hate for this to happen, I can see him stressing himself out and taking Peta with him. She’s not a seasoned pro who’s experienced at calming nervous partners.

Drew and Anna are one of the couples that I am so excited about this season. I really hope that all of this enthusiasm shows on the dancefloor on premiere night, to me that is the make it or break it night. It is crucial in my opinion.

I agree with Cidra, these two are my pick for the dark horse couple of the season, and very well could sneak into the semi-finals. 🙂

Drew could win it all (again lol) and it would be great since Anna has never won yet. That 98 Degrees video made me happy. I rember as a kid during the 90s, saying that I wanted to be like nick Lachey and Drew Lachey becuase they were in the band that got all the good songs. Looking back, their songs have held up really well.

Like I’ve stated before, Drew is the guy who got me watching this show. I was a huge 98 Degrees fan. Liked them better than Backstreet Boys and NSYNC. And while everyone else was drooling over Nick and Jeff, I was drooling over Drew. So, yes, I’m rooting for him. I don’t know about Anna, though, because I don’t think she’s a good choreographer. I think Drew will suffer because of her and possibly get an early exit. I have to agree that the Thriller Paso is his best dance.

Have to disagree about Gilles being the guy to compare all of the male stars to. Didn’t think he was great during his season. Still don’t.

[…] wait to see Drew dance again. Speaking of, if you haven’t read Courtney’s new DWTS 15 All-Stars: The Great “Previous Dance Experience” Debate – Drew Lachey Edition, be sure you do. She dissects Drew and whether he’ll be a force this season. You can see him […]